As direct-to-consumer mattress brands have added more and more features to their beds, many are no longer as affordable, with top-of-the-line models from well-known makers costing several thousand dollars. They still offer more than many similarly priced retail brands, but they may not save you the kind of money you were expecting when choosing a mattress in a box.
Key specs
- Sizes: Twin, twin XL, full, queen, king, California king
- Return Policy: Full refunds within 100-night free trial period
- Warranty: 10 year limited warranty
In response, Casper recently launched a new budget-friendly mattress, The Casper, coming in at under $1,000 for a queen — the least expensive mattress in their current lineup, and a throwback to their original low-cost offering. According to Casper, the new model is “inspired by the mattress that started it all, giving you Casper comfort at a cozy price.”
To find out whether we could rest easy recommending The Casper, we slept on the new mattress for a month, and found out everything you need to know.
Casper’s The Casper mattress is a budget-friendly foam bed with good temperature control, edge support and comfort at a price below much of the direct-to-consumer competition.
What we liked about it
The Casper is a good value mattress
The Casper mattress is an all-foam mattress with two layers of foam on top of a foam base, with a top cover made of knit material. It doesn’t have as many extras as more expensive beds in Casper’s line, such as the Casper Wave Hybrid Snow Mattress, which has features such as a cool-to-the-touch cover and zoned support.
What The Casper does offer is a hard-to-beat price for a Casper mattress — just under $1,000 for a queen-size bed. I didn’t find it as comfortable as higher-end beds I’ve tested, as it leaves out details such as a cool-touch cover, a plush pillow top or cooling foam. Since it only has foam, not coils like more expensive hybrid beds, the support doesn’t feel as substantial.
I didn’t find the amount of support an issue — the foam is comfortable enough to give you a good night’s sleep. That said, it just doesn’t feel as luxurious as a high-end hotel bed, but it is a good deal on a Casper bed, even if it isn’t the right mattress for someone looking for a high-end experience.
Not a cooling mattress, but perforations help prevent overheating
Casper doesn’t make any claims that The Casper is a cooling mattress. However, the first layer of foam is built using what Casper calls “Airscape” technology. This simply means there are perforations in the foam to help prevent heat buildup.
I can vouch that this was effective, because I didn’t overheat, though I didn’t find it quite as breathable as the Casper Wave Snow Hybrid, Leesa Legend Hybrid or even the Saatva. Taking the price into consideration, it’s a good bed for someone that doesn’t sleep too hot and just wants a touch of breathability.
The mattress is free of odors
Some foam beds have a noticeable and unpleasant odor from the chemicals off-gassing while unpacking the bed. I didn’t notice any of these odors from The Casper when I opened the plastic vacuum-seal packaging. Similar to other mattresses, the foam is CertiPur-US certified, which means it’s made without formaldehyde and flame retardants and according to Casper, the foams have been tested for low VOC (volatile organic compounds) emissions for indoor air quality (less than 0.5 parts per million).
The Casper has good edge support
Casper doesn’t mention anything about edge support features on this mattress, but regardless, I found the edge supportive even without any specific reinforcement built in. It was easy to sit on the edge without feeling like I would fall off.
Easy setup and Casper offers in-home setup and old mattress removal
The delivery of the mattress was typical of bed-in-a-box brands; it arrives at your doorstep compressed and packaged in a box. However, the setup of this mattress was much easier than other beds we tested simply because the mattress is much lighter and simpler to manage. I was able to set this up by myself and didn’t have to recruit anyone to help.
What we didn’t like about it
Not for stomach sleepers or those who like a firm bed
Sleep position is a primary consideration in how to choose a mattress, and if you sleep primarily on your stomach, you may not like The Casper because it’s on the softer side of medium and may not be firm enough to align your spine. It’s much better-suited for side and back sleepers who like a plush mattress. This mattress doesn’t give you any options for varying levels of support, so if you want a firmer mattress you’ll have to look at one of Casper’s more expensive models, the Saatva Classic or Tuft and Needle Mint, which are great choices for stomach sleepers.
The Casper mattress is thin compared to the competition
One thing that stood out about this mattress is that at 9.5 inches deep, it’s pretty thin compared to other mattresses we’ve looked at, which are 11 or more inches thick. This wasn’t immediately obvious while looking at the bed, but when putting on sheets made for deeper mattresses, we noticed the extra room around the fitted sheet and I had to tuck the sheet under quite a bit to get a good fit.
Bottom line
The Casper isn’t just a bargain. It’s a solid value, not just something you’ll want to relegate to a guest bedroom. That said, this mattress is on the softer side of medium, so it is best for side, back and combination sleepers or someone that doesn’t need a lot of firm support — it’s a good bed for a smaller-framed person.
I don’t think it would be the best choice for a stomach sleeper or someone who likes firm support. It’s a very basic foam mattress, and while it is a good value compared to other higher-end beds (and even other Casper mattresses), it’s not for someone looking for a luxury mattress experience. For the money, you get a decent, basic mattress and you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars.